A/N: Welcome, dear readers, to this fourth episode of Darkness of the Unown: The Silver Saga. I've been swirling ideas for this fic in my head quite a bit, and I figure it'll eventually come out to around 20 episodes altogether. And, right here and now, I'm giving to you my plan for Darkness of the Unown. Right now I'm only writing on TSS. Once I'm done, I will begin The Crystal Chronicle. I was originally planning on overlapping the two, but I figure it would be better to simply have all of the stuff that would have appeared in both just be in TCC. Once I'm done with TCC, and maybe even before, I'll start on The Gold Guidance. BUT, while I'm doing all of this, I'll also begin The Blue Beginning. Once that's done, I'll make The Red Revolution and The Yellow Years. These will parallel each other, and possibly culminate in an overlapping part. The gap between that ending and the beginning of The Silver Saga will be filled with The Guardian. I have no idea when I'll do that. Once I'm done with all that, I'll look to the final three, The Ruby Revival, the Sapphire Story and The Emerald Evolution. I haven't decided what order TSS and TRR are going to be in, but The Emerald Evolution will come only after they're both done. I don't know if I'll make a connecting fic between TGG and TRR. All the while, I'll be doing my lengthy Pokemon Coliseum novelization. Once that and The Emerald Evolution are finished, I'll unveil my ultimate climax fic.

OO Wow, that's a lot. This is probably going to take all of next year, AT LEAST, to finish. However, with a nice long winter break from school coming, I'm sure to get a good chunk of The Silver Saga, and the beginning of The Blue Beginning before the new year.

Jeez, talk about a long A/N....

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. If I did, this would be an anime instead of a fic on As it is, the best that'll ever happen is a doushinji manga. "Vertigo" belongs to U2.

Darkness of the Unown: The Silver Saga

Episode 4

Silver fell to his knees, clutching his head. His mind swirled.

These memories aren't mine...are they?

((THEY ARE, SILVER.))

Silver looked up and saw the void of the Unown's realm. Solid walls of Unown stood on all sides, forming a cube around him. He slowly stood up.

"How can these be my memories...that girl, she knew me, but no one can know me..."

((THEY ARE YOUR MEMORIES. THAT GIRL WAS YOUR LOVE BEFORE YOU CAME TO US.))

"My...love?"

((YES, SILVER. YOU AND HER WERE DEEPLY IN LOVE BEFORE. THAT IS HOW SHE RECOGNIZED YOU DESPITE THE CHANGE.))

"But that's...impossible..."

((NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE, SILVER. WE BELEIVED YOU KNEW THAT BY NOW.))

"But...how..."

((ONLY YOU CAN ANSWER YOURSELF THAT QUESTION.))

"How?"

((THROUGH YOUR MEMORIES. YOU MUST REMEMBER, SILVER.))

"How do I remember?"

((MASTER YOURSELF! MASTER THIS BODY WE HAVE GIVEN YOU! UNLEASH YOUR TRUE ABILITIES!))

The Unown surrounding Silver began to move, sliding past and around each other. For a while, the cube remained, but the Unown changed their movement, forming an ever-moving sphere around Silver.

Lights go down, it's dark,

The jungle is your head

Can't rule your heart

A feeling so much stronger than

Then they began to glow, their eyes emitting a bright golden light. They moved upwards, and Silver went with them.

A thought

Your eyes are wide

And though your soul

It can't be bought

Your mind can wander

His body didn't respond to his mind, and he simply rose limply. His mind was fuzzy; he didn't know what they were doing. But he would.

Hello, hello

I'm at a place called Vertigo

It's everything I wish I didn't know

Except you give me something I can feel

Beams of golden light lanced out of the Unowns' eyes, piercing Silver's body and holding him in a nexus of energy. Silver tried to yell out in pain, but nothing came.

The night is full of holes

As bullets rip the sky

Of ink with gold

Silver looked at his hand. It seemed to fade, and within he could see hundreds of small somethings swirling about.

They twinkle as the

Boys play rock and roll

They know that they can't dance

At least they know...

Silver could feel his entire body fade, and he could see the small things swirling about in all of his body.

I can't stand the beats

I'm asking for the cheque

The girl with crimson nails

Has Jesus 'round her neck

((MASTER YOURSELF!!))

Swinging to the music

Swinging to the music

Silver finally found himself able to cry out, as his entire body vanished, and was replace by the swirling things. They floated out of the shape they had been in, and swirled around the place where the beams intersected. Silver went with them.

Hello, hello

I'm at a place called Vertigo

It's everything I wish I didn't know

But you give me something I can feel

The things reformed themselves into various parts of Silver's body. An arm. A leg. An eye.

Check mated

Silver's body reformed entirely. The beams still held him. Indistinct flashes of memories flashed in his mind.

All of this can be yours

All of this can be yours

The beams vanished, and the Unown dispersed.

All of this can be yours

Just give me what I want and no-one gets hurt.

His body slowly descended. His mind was blank.

Hello, hello

We're at a place called Vertigo

Lights go down and all I know

Is that you give me something

He reached a solid plane and found himself on his knees.

I can feel you teaching me how

You are teaching me how, how to kneel...

((YOU HAVE MASTERED YOURSELF. YOU CAN NOW GO FIND YOUR MEMORIES, AND UNLEASH YOUR TRUE POWER.))

Naoko sat on the bench in the Pokemon Center, staring down at her shoes. She felt foolish. She shouldn't have felt so shocked upon seeing the declaration of Allen's death. She had known of it. She had been at the funeral. But that boy who saved her...he was so much like Allen.

But he's not...Allen's dead.

She wiped away the remaining tears with the back of her hand. There was no sense in remaining at the Pokemon Center. She stood up, and left. She walked slowly through the streets of Goldenrod, eventually reaching a three-story apartment building. Once inside, she made her way to her apartment, on the second floor. She unlocked the door and entered. It was a simple place, containing only three rooms. There was the "living room" where the door led, which contained a couch, a table, a small kitchenette, and a television. A door led into a small bathroom, with another door in the same wall led to her small bedroom. That was where she headed, falling down on the bed.

For a while, she just laid on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Then she turned her head, and saw it, lying on a shelf. A shining golden feather. It was covered with dust, but its luster shone through. She stared at it for a moment.

Maybe...that's it.

Lugia stood in the small pool of water in the cavern. He had watched from above as Silver was taken into the Unown's world. Something strange was happening. Right before, Silver had fallen to his knees.

Something definitely strange is happening...

The air shattered. Lugia snapped his head towards the new portal. Silver stepped out. There was a faraway look in his eyes. He didn't seem to notice Lugia, and made for the exit of the room.

Well, well, Silver. Now what have the Unown sent you to do?

...I must find my memories...and unleash my true abilities. Do not get in the way.

Silver exited the room, and began to fly up a shaft outside of it. Lugia spread his wings and followed.

Silver! The Unown only wish to use you!

Silver stopped and turned. Lugia had flown to be level with him.

Do not interfere.

In less than a second, faster than he ever had before, Silver flung an energy sphere at Lugia. It struck a psychic shield and dissipated. Silver's face remained impassive. Lugia drew back his head, and responded to the attack with an Aeroblast. The yellow beam arced out at Silver.

Silver's body disappeared, and was replaced by the swirling particles. They exploded out of their arrangement, and the attack passed through harmlessly, striking the stone behind the place Silver had been.

So the Unown taught you some new tricks, did they?

...I have mastered myself.

All at once, Silver's body coalesced behind Lugia, and threw two energy spheres into the Pokemon's back. With a shrieking cry, he fell to the bottom of the shaft, the feathers on his back burned. He was still.

Silver looked at the still form of Lugia for a moment, and flew on out of the Whirl Islands. He headed towards Ecruteak City in the north.

I must find my memories, and unleash my true power.

From within the other world, five voices, and at the same time one voice, spoke.

((IT HAS BEGUN.))

((AS BLUE, RED, AND YELLOW END; SILVER, CRYSTAL, AND GOLD BEGIN.))

((THE FIRST PHASE OF THE SECOND BEGINNING COMMENCES.))

((AND THE MECHANISMS OF THE SECOND PHASE ARE SET.))

((HERE, THE TRUE SAGA OF SILVER BEGINS.))

A/N: Wow. This episode turned out better than I thought. What's with the thing at the end? Well, you'll find out eventually. (devilish grin) The song I included (yes, that was a song) was "Vertigo" by U2. Thanks to them for writing it.

Next episode preview: Silver's taken out Lugia for the time being, and it looks like Ho-oh's next on the list. Naoko follows the trail of the golden feather, and ends up in the middle of a battle! As Silver strives to restore his memories, he encounters a breakthrough with Naoko. But is it good or bad for her?